Blake Bell shines in first start for Oklahoma

Posted by Chris Huston on September 14, 2013, 4:18 PM EDT

AP

Oklahoma’s offense needed a spark and it got it in the form of The Bell Dozer.

Junior quarterback Blake Bell threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns as the Sooners exploded to a 51-20 victory over Tulsa on Saturday. It was the most passing yards ever by an OU quarterback in his first start.

The Sooners entered the contest averaging just 121 passing yards in their first two games. Starter Trevor Knight was completing an abysmal 43.8% of his passes and averaging 4.3 yards per attempt. But Knight hurt his thigh in OU’s win over West Virginia, which opened the door for Bell to get hist first career start against Tulsa. Bell was efficient against the Hurricanes, hitting mostly short passes that turned into big gains and he finished 27 of 37 on the day.

The one thing Bell didn’t do much of was run the ball, his specialty. He gained just 24 yards on 10 carries. But everyone knows he can run it. The one question mark that existed about the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder was his passing ability.

It looks like he answered that question today. It also looks like he’s going to be OU’s starting quarterback for the time being, regardless of Knight’s health status.

Once this guy has confidence in his arm, he’s gonna be scary. Go back and watch the straight line throws…ALL on the money. He lofted several long passes with many of them sailing long. ..once he gets it…..damn he’s gonna be good!